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Akiniwazisaga: A Light Rises in a Dark World
Reviews | Lorehaven Review Team on Apr 16, 2021

58. How Did We Enjoy the Heroic Majesty of ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’?
Podcast | Fantastical Truth on Apr 13, 2021

How Reading Epic Fantasy Helps Me Be Brave
Articles | Josiah DeGraaf on Apr 9, 2021

All the Queen’s Sons
Reviews | Lorehaven Review Team on Apr 9, 2021

Implicit Magic in Fantasy Fiction Can Stir Our Longing for Transcendent Myth
Articles | Elijah David on Apr 7, 2021

57. How Do Stories Help Us Imagine Suffering and the Hope of Resurrection? | Epic Resurrection, part 4
Podcast | Fantastical Truth on Apr 6, 2021

The PRISM Conspiracy
Reviews | Lorehaven Review Team on Apr 2, 2021

To Help Kids Learn Pop Culture Engagement, Parents Must Work Together
Articles | Jason Joyner on Mar 31, 2021

56. Which Biblical Qualities Empower Strong Female Characters? | with Elisabeth Wheatley
Podcast | Fantastical Truth on Mar 30, 2021

Why We Long for Movies to Match Their Books
Articles | L.G. McCary on Mar 25, 2021

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Aelafas, Peco Gaskovski
The Centauri Survivors, Andrew J. Chamberlain
The Father's Tree, Crystal Jencks
The Mermaid's Sister, Carrie Anne Noble
The Watcher, Sara Davison
Etania's Worth, M. H. Elrich
Cinderella Spell, Laurie Lee
When Desperate Measures Are All You Have Left, J. C. Morrows
Fractures, James C. Joyner
Torch, R. J. Anderson
The Terran Summit, Anna Zogg
The Xerxes Factor, Anna Zogg
The Paradise Protocol, Anna Zogg
The Awakened, Richard Spillman
Reviews

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Akiniwazisaga: A Light Rises in a Dark World
“M. D. Boncher’s fantasy novel Akiniwazisaga: A Light Rises in a Dark World is a fascinating blend of history, religion, and sinister folklore.”
—Lorehaven on Apr 16, 2021

All the Queen’s Sons
“All The Queen’s Sons from Elizabeth Kipps will delight both young and old fans of level-headed girls, charming princes, and lovely lands.”
—Lorehaven on Apr 9, 2021

The PRISM Conspiracy
“Mary Schlegel’s gentle sci-fi The PRISM Conspiracy offers an attractive blend of possibility and sweet romance.”
—Lorehaven on Apr 2, 2021

Songflight
“Songflight by Michelle M. Bruhn tells the gripping story of dragon singer Alísa, and is best for lovers of fantasy and dragons.”
—Lorehaven on Mar 19, 2021

Podcast

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58. How Did We Enjoy the Heroic Majesty of ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’?
Fantastical Truth, Apr 13, 2021

57. How Do Stories Help Us Imagine Suffering and the Hope of Resurrection? | Epic Resurrection, part 4
Fantastical Truth, Apr 6, 2021

56. Which Biblical Qualities Empower Strong Female Characters? | with Elisabeth Wheatley
Fantastical Truth, Mar 30, 2021

55. Should Christians Embrace Cultural and Digital Enclaves? | with Austin Gunderson
Fantastical Truth, Mar 16, 2021

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The Symbolic Nature of Sci-fi Apocalyptic Disaster Films
Parker J. Cole, Apr 14

Introduction: Hunger by Jill Williamson
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Apr 12

The Beauty of Short Horror Films
Parker J. Cole, Mar 31

Banning Books
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Mar 22

Beyond

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E. Stephen Burnett, Oct 6

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Reading For The Soul

Some books go beyond the element of feeding our mind or feeding our pleasure center.
Rebecca LuElla Miller on Nov 9, 2020 | 2 comments

I know that most of the time people read fiction for entertainment. Others say that we also read it to have our biases confirmed. So we choose to read stories that reinforce a “good wins out” motif, or a “love conquers all” theme or whatever we agree with.

Some people do enjoy the challenge of learning about new and different people and places. One of the more eye-opening books I ever read was Emile Zola’s Germinal, a novel set in France in the 1860s about a coalminers’ strike. It’s evocative and thought-provoking and reveals struggles of people in places and in cultural conditions that are not like my own.

More recently I’ve enjoyed Kay Marshall Strom’s novels such as The Call of Zulina, set in Africa, or The Faith of Ashish, set in India, both in an earlier century. Or there are novels such as Jill Stengl’s Shadows of Yesterday (Until That Distant Day Book 1), a novel set in France during the early days of the republic.

I suppose most historical novels would fall into the category of ones that introduce the reader to new places and peoples and cultures. James A. Michener’s numerous (and lengthy) historical novels such as Hawaii and Mexico and Alaska and Texas and Poland and many others, certainly introduce readers to people who lived in different times and cultures, in a way that feels a bit like exploring.

However, I think there is another reason to read—one which I’m calling “for the soul.” Some books go beyond the element of feeding our mind or feeding our pleasure center. They resonate with us because they say something true that is deeper and greater and longer lasting about life, about our relationship with God.

When I was a kid, I grew up with that kind of fiction. One of our favorite books, which we read aloud as a family was Aurie’s Wooden Leg by Lionel A. Hunt. All three of us children enjoyed that book, to the point that my brother went on a search a few years ago to find copies of the now out-of-print book. He succeeded and bought us each a copy. When I re-read it, I was amazed at the quality of the story.

But apart from that, there is no pretense to hide the spiritual elements. This is a book about a sister’s heart for her twin brother who doesn’t “understand how to get to heaven yet.” It’s got some surprises and suspense and tragedy and danger. But it doesn’t leave the primary purpose—that this little girl cares about her brother’s eternal destiny.

Other books that my brother owned but were also included in our family reading were ones by Paul Hutchens. The Sugar Creek Gang books “follow the legendary escapades of Bill Collins, Dragonfly, and the rest of the gang as they struggle with the application of their Christian faith to the adventure of life.”

Bill, as I recall, was the narrator of the stories, and he was always so honest about his own struggles to do the right things, and his admiration for their leader, Jim, and their young Bible-quoting member, Little Jim. I found Bill’s honesty refreshing, even as the truth and values of Scripture were reinforced. Of course, I didn’t think in those terms as a kid. I just liked those books.

As I look back now, I can see how those stories did nurture my soul. Same with the books by Kay Marshall Strom, and many others by Christians as Christian fiction began to grow and become well-written stories that portrayed life realistically.

Sure, there are stories that make the effort but are poorly written or preachy or contrived. But the books that tell a good story and yet uncover some truth about God that I need to be reminded of or haven’t thought about in that same way exactly, feed my soul.

Narnia did that, and does that when I re-read those books. Lewis had a way of showing God in a way that makes Him seem so winsome and desirable, so joyful, and yet so majestic—well, they simply feed my soul.

How about you? What books have you read, as a child or as an adult, that feed your soul?

Rebecca LuElla Miller
Best known for her aspirations as an epic fantasy author, Becky is the sole remaining founding member of Speculative Faith. Besides contributing weekly articles here, she blogs Monday through Friday at A Christian Worldview of Fiction. She works as a freelance writer and editor and posts writing tips as well as information about her editing services at Rewrite, Reword, Rework.
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  1. Travis Chapman says:
    November 10, 2020 at 8:37 am

    I appreciated the selected image of C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles. Every year I reread “A Horse and His Boy” and “The Last Battle”, usually twice (and to be honest, as audiobooks because I can fit it into my life easier!) I’ve told countless people that these are the best books on leadership one could find. The blessing of this discipline is that it reminds me of the kind of man I aspire to be and daily am becoming. My soul resonates with the deep themes of each story, and it’s a subtle moment of God giving His “Yes” to my imagination as I embrace Lewis’ characters.

    Reply
    • Rebecca LuElla Miller says:
      November 16, 2020 at 2:18 pm

      What an excellent example of what I’ve referred to as reading for the soul. Thanks for sharing that, Travis. And yes, I should have mentioned The Great Divorce and Til We Have Faces, two Lewis novels (if you can call them that) which changed my spiritual life.

      Becky

      Reply

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